Last updated: June 14, 2024
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to mileage trackers. If you’re using your car to create revenue, e.g. you drive for DoorDash, and you need to track your mileage in order to do so, there are several factors to keep in mind when choosing the mileage app that is the best for your needs. For our comparison, we’ve collected some of the most useful functions, reviews, pricing, and possible deductions of best mileage trackers.
In this article, we will explain these useful functions and give a detailed overview of the best mileage tracker apps and their features.
Features to Look For in the Best Mileage Tracking Apps
1. Automatic Mileage Tracking Modes
When you’re about to decide which miles tracker app you’d like to go with, the bottom line is that it should be available for Android devices as well Apple devices so you can download it on Google Play or App Store. The other crucial factor is whether it can automatically tracks your miles or not.
2. IRS-Proof Mileage Log Creation
It doesn’t take much to know that your “handcrafted” mileage log, which you did on Excel or a paper sheet, is not likely to stand up for an IRS audit. Surprisingly though, 99% of the mileage tracking software products do not assure you that the mileage reports created by their software is IRS-compliant.
3. Backtracking of Forgotten Mileage
Inconvenient, but it happens to a lot of people: The IRS is asking for a proof for your business mileage tax deduction from 1 or 2 years earlier. You can start panicking, pay the fine, or start looking for the solution.
It doesn’t happen to most people, but when it does, it hits hard. Don’t procrastinate, because the fine may be a huge amount that takes a toll on your budget for your whole tax year.
4. Automatic Trip Categorization
This function is pretty underrated, but not having to put each trip in the Personal or Business category is a huge time- and energy-saving feature.
5. Integrations With Other Software Products and Modules
If you are self-employed, a small business owner, or an independent contractor, and you started to track your mileage and expenses (e.g. your vehicle expenses) in a program you’re not satisfied with, you should be able to bring your data over to a more advanced piece of software, without a major headache.
6. Enterprise solutions
Moreover, enterprise companies have to focus on the options for Team usage in a piece of mileage logging software.
Web dashboard platforms that are shareable with coworkers and accountants with possible various permissions give the company the opportunity to assign certain cars to certain workers, in a flexible way, which is optimized for teamwork.
This way the group can track their business miles together in their work hours, with the supervision of the Administrator account.
What about pricing?
If we are talking about prices, it is important to compare it to the amount of the possible business mileage deduction as it is a matter of thousands of dollars. See them in out comparison table below.
Secondly, options for trial and free usage also matter. Most mileage logging companies give you a limited number of monthly free trips, and once you’ve reached that number (which is usually 15-40 trips/month), you won’t be able to record more business or personal trips for free.
Let’s see those Comparisons!
If you have analyzed the table carefully, you might have noticed that MileageWise stands at the forefront of the best mileage tracking apps.
Download MileageWise’s automatic mileage tracker app from Google Play or the App Store & try it for free for 14 days. No credit card required!
Why MileageWise is Unlike Any Other
Several recording options
You can see 4 of MileageWise’s tracking modes in the table:
- Manual recording
- Car Bluetooth tracking for iOS & Android (no hardware needed)
- Plug’N’Go tracking (by phone charging)
- Vehicle movement monitoring
Most of the applications are able to do the manual trip recording and the vehicle movement monitoring . As for the Bluetooth mode, they usually offer external hardware you need to purchase separately, which can easily demotivate someone to go with Bluetooth tracking.
Using MileageWise, you don’t need any extra hardware for its Bluetooth tracking mode, and it also provides a Plug’N’Go option, which records your arrival when you remove the cable from your phone and stop the car – double trigger point.
Automatic trip classification
MileageWise automatically places your clients’ locations in one of the categories – of course, you are able to edit them to your liking. Instead of putting each trip into a category manually, it’s easier to have locations categorized automatically, plus, this latter option also gives you a much smaller chance to make a mistake. You can adjust the settings anytime.
Smart integrations
If you’re using accounting software, such as FreshBooks, it’s paramount that your business expenses can be imported there from your mileage logging software with a single click. If you’re using the right kind of software for mileage tracking, like MileageWise, it’s not a problem at all.
Unrestricted trial period
Using MileageWise, if you change your mind within the 14-day trial period, no money will be taken from your bank account, meaning that trying MileageWise for 14 days with an unlimited number of trips is 100% risk-free. The only thing to keep in mind is to know what day the trial period is going to end.
If you like the software and decide to keep on using it, it’s also an advantage if you can choose between paying monthly or yearly.
One-of-a-kind retrospective log creation
Google Maps Timeline Import: Easily import your Google Maps Timeline data into MileageWise to automatically generate precise and detailed mileage logs. This integration ensures that all your trips are accurately recovered from Google and transformed into an IRS-Proof mileage log.
Is your Google Timeline missing? No worries! Our advanced AI Wizard can create your retrospective mileage log even if your Google Timeline data is unavailable. By analyzing your driving habits and patterns, the AI Wizard suggests trips and fills in the gaps, ensuring you have a complete and accurate mileage log for IRS compliance.
